Connect With Jacquea on Socials
Jacquea can be found on multiple different social media platforms, all of them will be linked below if you are interested in checking her out.
Jacquea’s Solo Albums
Jacquea has recorded two solo albums, her debut is called “The Makings Of Me” and was released in 2016 and her second album was released in 2019 and is called “Life On Hold”. Both albums will be linked below if you want to check them out.
The Makings Of Me: Listen here
Life On Hold: Listen here
Info About Her Band NASH.V.ILL
NASH.V.ILL is a hard-rockin’ funk and soul band fronted by Jacquea and Yinz World alum Byron Nash, as well as Julz Powell and Josh Powell. They play shows all around the Pittsburgh area, so if you are interested in catching one of their gigs, you can check out their socials below for upcoming show announcements.
Instagram: here
Facebook: here
They will have new music coming out in the near future, but in the meantime you can check out their Spotify here.
Kelly Strayhorn Theater
Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located on Penn Avenue in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Named after two passionate Pittsburgh creatives Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, KST fosters bold and innovative artistry that is reflective of the passion that its namesakes had for the arts. Kelly Strayhorn Theater prides themselves on providing a welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter, and celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion.
The theater has another venue, KST Alloy Studios, also located on Penn Avenue that offers recreational classes in things like hip hop and beginning ballet to people of all ages and skill levels. For more info on their current class schedule and how to register, visit their website here.
Pittsburgh Plays Events
Pittsburgh Plays is a semi-annual event that offers music lovers of all kinds the chance to experience the talents of local artists through the coveted music of legendary performers who have influenced generations. The mission of Pittsburgh Plays is to build community within the local music scene by connecting artists, challenging them to adapt and perform with new people and go on to continue to collaborate in other ways outside of Pittsburgh Plays events. Their most recent production was the tribute to Queen mentioned in this episode, but previous shows have featured artists Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, and Fleetwood Mac. They currently don’t have any upcoming events, but you can visit their website here or their instagram here for any show announcements.
Bethany and Jacquea, as well as Yinz World alum Byron Nash and Anne Celedonia were some of the musicians that participated in Pittsburgh Plays most recent show, “Pittsburgh Plays Queen” in 2022. They played two sold out shows at Thunderbird Music Hall in Lawrenceville, and even had a limited edition Pilsner beer available in collaboration with Helltown Brewing.
Pittsburgh Plays official live performance video footage has not yet been released, but we will post the link here when it is available. In the meantime, if you want to see a short clip of Jacquea’s performance, she has a short clip on her socials that can be viewed here. Bethany also has a few videos on her music page if you want to see more from the show. Those videos can be found here and here, or you can check out her page here for behind-the-scenes content from the performances.
Sources: Pittsburgh Plays
PanaFest in Ghana, West Africa
First held in 1992, PanaFest, previously called the Pan African Historical Theatre Project, is a cultural event held in Ghana, West Africa every two years. The festival is for Africans and people of African descent, and aims to promote and enhance unity within the African community as well as develop the continent of Africa itself. The event features performances from several different artistic disciplines including music, theater, and poetry.
Jacquea mentions having her photo featured on the Panafest youtube page. Unfortunately, the official Panafest website has since been updated to reflect the most recent year’s festival photos and media, so her photo is no longer visible on their page.
Sources: Wikipedia
Lausanne Afro Fusion Festival In Switzerland
The Lausanne Afro Fusion Festival (LAFF) is an annual cultural event in Lausanne, Switzerland that celebrates African culture through music, food, crafts, and fashion. The four day festival boasts musicians and artists from around the world as well as a culinary market that features dishes from all across Africa. The 2024 festival will be held August 22nd-25th.
Source: Lausanne Afro Fusion Festival
During this episode, Jacquea talks about when she had the opportunity to perform at The Lausanne Afro Fusion Festival in 2019, and mentions visiting the famous Freddie Mercury statue while in Switzerland. We've included a photo that she took with the statue here.
Physical Stamina & Singing
You might think that all you need to sing well is a good voice and proper technique, but singing actually requires a lot of physical skill and ability as well. The voice is powered by the respiratory system, and the efficiency of the lungs directly influences a singer’s performance. Lung capacity and stamina are the two main factors that determine the quality of a singer’s performance. Simply put, lung capacity is the amount of air the lungs are able to take in. Knowing that, it can be said that the more lung capacity a singer has, the more power and volume they will be able to achieve. Vocal stamina is similar to endurance; it’s the ability to sing for extended periods of time without the quality of the performance deteriorating. Singers with more stamina can perform longer, harder sets more frequently. Having good lung capacity and vocal stamina are important for any singer, but especially for performers who plan to sing multiple sets, longer sets, consecutive shows, or even dance while they perform.
Doing regular vocal/breathing exercises as well as other cardio workouts are great ways to increase lung capacity and stamina, which both Bethany and Jacquea discuss in this episode as being part of their routine they use to stay show-ready.
Since singing can be so physically demanding, there have been multiple studies of its effects on lung function and whether or not it could be beneficial for certain lung diseases. It has been found that on average, singers have about a 14% increase in lung capacity compared to nonsingers, and using singing techniques has shown to improve breathing for people with COPD and asthma.
Sources: Medium, National Institutes of Health, NIH, and News Medical
Music & Grief
Music has long been recognized for its therapeutic effects on individuals experiencing grief. Music lights up nearly all of the brain, but when talking about the connection with grief, the limbic system is the area of interest. The limbic system is composed of the parts of the brain that control memory and emotion, like the hippocampus and amygdala. Listening to and creating music stimulates this area, evoking memories and emotions and allowing individuals to process their grief in a healthy way. Listening to and creating music is a pleasurable activity; it activates our reward system. When our reward system is activated, dopamine gets released and we feel good. Music can also provide a source of comfort, emotional expression, and distraction from overwhelming feelings of sadness and loss. Music can serve as a form of distraction, offering a temporary escape from overwhelming feelings of grief and providing moments of respite and tranquility. Overall, music has the ability to soothe the soul, bring emotional release, and offer a sense of connection and healing during times of grief.
Sources: University Of Utah, Pathways, TIME, and What’s Your Grief
The Shadow Lounge
Opened in 2000 by Justin Strong, the Shadow Lounge was legendary in the Pittsburgh Hip Hop scene, and is heavily credited for how developed and inclusive the East Liberty neighborhood is today. Located on Baum Boulevard, the venue hosted a variety of local and national acts, as well as consistently hosted open-mic nights that welcomed both aspiring and veteran artists to collaborate and hone their skills. The Shadow Lounge had a reputation of being a venue of talent development, and had a certain ability to bring people together. Although it was heavily beloved by the community, Strong decided to close the venue in March of 2013 in the hopes of eventually opening a new venue in its place.
Sources: Pgh City Paper and Pitt News
Health Benefits Of Kombucha
Kombucha is a tea beverage made by fermenting tea with sugar, yeast, and healthy bacteria for a period of one week to a month. This fermentation process produces acetic acid (also found in vinegar- what gives it a slight vinegary taste) and several other acidic compounds, trace levels of alcohol, and gasses that make it carbonated.
Kombucha boasts many health benefits, several of which are similar to those of other fermented foods, like sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, kefir and yogurt, however research is limited. Some of kombucha’s touted benefits include:
Aiding in digestion
Anti-inflammatory
Antibacterial properties
Cardiovascular benefits
Because kombucha contains bacteria and yeast, it is loaded with probiotics, which have been shown to improve gut health by helping balance the gut microbiome. Kombucha is also loaded with antioxidants and polyphenols that work overtime to protect your body from damage. This can help limit chronic inflammation that can lead to health issues such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis. Acetic acid is naturally produced during the fermentation process of kombucha. Acetic acid is known to have antibacterial effects, making it good at fighting infections like the strep throat.
Sources: Cleveland Clinic and Healthline
Stacks Program With Carnegie Library
The STACKS Program is a music streaming platform offered by the Carnegie Library that features local Pittsburgh musicians. The Library’s free streaming, ever-growing, online collection serves as a living document of Pittsburgh’s evolving music scene. With just a library card, patrons can stream any of the more than 200 local artists featured on the STACKS site. Selected STACKS artists are not only promoted on the platform, they’re also paid a one-time stipend of $200 for their albums.
STACKS accepts submissions from Pittsburgh musicians through scheduled submission windows. To be considered eligible, an album must meet the following criteria:
Artists must reside in and perform regularly in the Pittsburgh region
Album must have been published within the past 5 years
Albums must be a minimum of 4 songs or 10 minutes in length
Artist must own the rights to their music, or have properly cleared all samples
If you are interested in accessing the STACKS catalog, you can visit their site here, and if you are a local musician interested in applying for the program, you can visit their submission site here. The submission period is currently closed, but they will update this site when the submission period opens again.
Sources: Carnegie Library
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